North Dakota State at North Dakota
Friday, Sept. 2 | 4 p.m.
Bronson Field | Grand Forks, N.D.
Live Stats | Live Video

North Dakota State at Washington State
Sunday, Sept. 4 | 9 p.m. CT (7 p.m. PT)
Lower Soccer Field | Pullman, Wash.
Live Video

NDSU Notes (PDF)

NDSU soccer on Twitter: @NDSUsoccer

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Quick Notes:

• The North Dakota State University women's soccer team is scheduled to close out a four-game road swing with a pair of matches on Friday, Sept. 2, and Sunday, Sept. 4. Friday, the Bison are slated to travel to Grand Forks for a 4 p.m. match against North Dakota before traveling to Pullman, Wash., on Sunday for a 9 p.m. CT (7 p.m. PT) match at Washington State. 
• The Bison went 1-1-0 last weekend, winning at CSUN Friday, Aug. 26, 1-0, before falling at UC Riverside Sunday, Aug. 28, 1-0. 
• NDSU freshman goalkeeper Monica Polgar earned her first career Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honor for her performance in-goal during the week of Aug. 22-28. 
• North Dakota State returns seven starters from last season's Summit League regular season championship team, including six All-Summit League honorees. 
• The Bison welcome back reigning Summit League Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller and Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon. 
• North Dakota State finished last season with a 13-6-1 overall record and went unbeaten in Summit League play for the first time in program history at 7-0-1. 

The Series Against North Dakota
    Friday's match at North Dakota will mark the 12th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1999. The Bison lead the series, 6-4-1, after defeating the Fighting Hawks at Dacotah Field last season in double overtime, 1-0. Friday's contest will mark the first time NDSU has played in Grand Forks since 2013, as the last two meetings have been in Fargo. 

The Series Against Washington State
    The match at Washington State Sunday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Cougars on the soccer pitch. 

Scouting North Dakota

• The University of North Dakota enters the weekend at 1-2-1 overall after dropping road matches at Omaha Aug. 28 and at Minnesota Aug. 26. 
• Freshman forward Karleen Yapello has scored the Fighting Hawks lone goal through four matches this season. 
• Freshman goalkeeper Catherine Klein has started two of four matches between the pipes for UND and has compiled a 1.21 GAA, surrendering five goals while making 42 saves. Klein is 1-2-1 in-goal with a shutout. 
• Through four matches, North Dakota is averaging 0.25 goals per game while surrendering 1.25 goals per game to its opponents. 
• The Fighting Hawks were picked 10th in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
• UND is under the leadership of fourth season head coach Matt Kellogg. 

Scouting Washington State

• The Washington State University Cougars enter the weekend at 1-2-0 overall after falling at Gonzaga on Aug. 28. 
• WSU is scheduled to host Montana on Friday before facing the Bison Sunday. 
• Senior forward Kaitlyn Johnson and sophomore forward Alysha Overland have each scored a goal for Washington State through three matches. 
• Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Ella Dederick is 1-2-0 with one shutout and a 0.95 GAA for the Cougars. She has allowed three goals while making 11 saves. 
• Through three contests, Washington State is averaging 0.67 goals per game while giving up one goal per game to its adversaries. 
• The Cougars were picked seventh in the Pac-12 Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll. 
• WSU is under the direction of second season head coach Todd Shulenberger. 

Catching Up with The Herd

• North Dakota State enters the weekend at 2-2-0 overall after splitting a pair of matches in California last weekend. The Bison defeated CSUN Friday, Aug. 26, 1-0, before falling at UC Riverside Sunday, Aug. 28, 1-0.
• In NDSU's 1-0 shutout win at CSUN, senior midfielder Amy Yang scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for the Bison in the 59th-minute, while freshman goalkeeper Monica Polgar earned her second career shutout win after surrendering no goals and making a match-high three saves in 90 minutes between the posts. 
• Sunday, in the Bison's 1-0 loss at UC Riverside, Polgar made four saves, while senior midfielder Lauren Miller and freshman forward Mariah Haberle each tallied two shots on goal to lead the NDSU offense. 
• Through four matches, Yang leads North Dakota State in scoring with two goals while Miller has a team-best two assists. 
• Polgar has started all four matches in-goal for NDSU, compiling a 2-2-0 record with two shutouts, 15 saves and a 0.50 GAA. She has only allowed two goals so far this season. 
• As a team, the Bison are averaging 0.75 goals per game while allowing 0.50 goals per game. 
• For the first time in program history, North Dakota State was picked as the preseason favorite in The Summit League preseason coaches' poll.
• The Bison welcome eight newcomers in freshmen Monica Polgar (GK), Mariah Haberle (F), Anna Triller (MF), Laura Powell (D), Emily Boyer (MF), Julia Densmore (D) and Leah Emerson (F), and transfer Malley O'Brien (MF).
• North Dakota State returns 92 percent of its scoring from last season. 
• The Bison return every player who netted a game-winning goal in 2015. 

The Previous Meeting with North Dakota

• The Bison claimed a thrilling 1-0 win over UND in double overtime in front of a Dacotah Field record 1,007 spectators on Sept. 11, 2015. 
• Roxy Roemer netted the game-winning goal for NDSU in the 107th-minute of extra time off a Lauren Miller assist, just three minutes before the match would be called a draw. 
• NDSU outshot North Dakota, 23-12, and posted a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks taken. 

Looking Back at 2015

• The Bison tallied a 13-6-1 overall record and went unbeaten in Summit League play at 7-0-1 for the first time in program history, claiming the league's regular season championship for the first time since 2009.
• The 13 wins marked the most victories since the 2011 season.
• NDSU went a perfect 4-0-0 at home in Summit League competition.
• The Bison has a program record nine student-athletes earn All-Summit League honors, including Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller, Goalkeeper of the Year Sierra Bonham and Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon. In addition, head coach Mark Cook was voted The Summit League Coach of the Year.
• Miller and Amy Yang were named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team.
• Miller, Yang and Meghan Johnston were voted to The Summit League Academic All-League Team.
• Miller set a new NDSU single-season record for goals (18) and points (41).
• Bonham tied the NDSU single-=season record with 111 saves.

Head Coach Mark Cook
    Mark Cook is in his fifth season at the helm of the North Dakota State soccer program after being named head coach in 2012.  He is the fourth head coach in the 20-year history of the program.
     Cook led NDSU to its first Summit League regular season title since 2009 with a 7-0-1 Summit League record in 2015. It was the first time in program history the Bison finished league play unbeaten. NDSU qualified for its seventh consecutive Summit League tournament and advanced to the tournament championship match for the second time in three seasons before falling to South Dakota State to finish the season at 13-6-1 overall. A program record nine student-athletes earned All-Summit League honors, including Goalkeeper of the Year Sierra Bonham, Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller and Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon. In addition, Cook was voted The Summit League Coach of the Year. Miller, along with Amy Yang, were named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team to become the first Bison to be named NSCAA All-Region since 2003 and the first for North Dakota State in the Division I era. 
     Cook came to NDSU after serving as the Director of Coaching at the Minnesota Thunder Academy for 11 years, where he grew a four-team program into one of the premier club programs in the Twin Cities with 65 teams in 2012.
     Cook holds the United States Soccer Federation 'A' coaching license, the highest certification available in the U.S.  He also has the NSCAA Premier License and Director of Coaching Diploma.
     He graduated from Alfred (N.Y.) University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in communications. He was the starting goalkeeper at Alfred for two years.

On the Horizon
    North Dakota State is scheduled to host the University of Utah on Sunday, Sept. 11, at noon on Dacotah Field. The match will be aired live on Bison 1660 AM.